Red Love
by Anisoka99
Summary: Skylar Harris finds a badly injured Red Hood in the alley behind her apartment. The two are polar opposites, as they find out when she treats him in her living room. Red Hood is so badly scarred, and Skylar knows next to nothing about life on the streets. Red Hood finds himself determined to protect her. Rated T for future violence and Jason's muscles.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, intro to character here. Skylar is the daughter of an Arkham Asylum security guard. The usual single parent situation: stays home while parent works, fends for herself, etc. Her mom died in one criminals attack. Leave a review with ideas...I'm making up the plot as I go. 8D**

**Disclaimer: All I own is Skylar Harris. My OC. Not Jason, Not Bruce, Not the Joker, Only Sky. If I did, I would have a mansion and a dozen Egyptian Arabian Horses. And would never have killed Jason or Damian.**

**Third Person Skylar**

Skylar rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. Turning her head to the side, she read 3:13 on her clock. As always, sleep was eluding her. The small apartment was quiet: not even creaking floorboards. Her dad was still at Arkham, where he worked as a guard. And here lies Skylar Harris: short and athletic with light blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, and tan skin. Her mom died. Her father hardly ever sees her. She spends all her time at school, the shooting range, and the gym. Perfect life? Not even close to a smidge of perfection.

She shot up as a series of gunshots disrupted the early morning. Rolling out of her bed and sliding under it, she covered her head. "Just like Daddy taught me," she whispered to herself. Skylar waited for several minutes, and didn't hear any more shots, so she climbed out and walked to the window cautiously. Scanning the length of the alley and finding nothing, she turned to go to bed. But before she left, she noticed something moving at the entrance. As she looked closer, she saw the figure of a man stumbling closer to her apartment. She is about to shrug it off as some drunk or high idiot when she sees him collapse against a dumpster holding his midsection.

Running to the first aid kit, she grabs it and races to the stairs. She nearly trips several times, but gets to the first level safely. Shoving the door open, she sees the man and runs to him. When she arrives, he looks up at her. He's tall, muscular, and has black hair. His eyes, well, she can't see his eyes. He looks like he's wearing Nightwing or Robins mask, except it's red, not green or blue. She looks down, and realizes that he's holding two different wounds in the middle of his abdomen. Gently, she pries his hands away from the wounds, causing blood to start flowing faster, and him to bleed out faster. He pulls his shirt up to his chest, exposing a set of muscles she's only- _'back on task Sky!'_ she thinks. Look at a complete strangers abs later.

Skylar yanks the kit open, pulls out the antiseptic, and rinses off the wound. He hisses in pain when the alcohol touches the injury, but allows her to continue. She reaches for a pair of hemostats she saw earlier, and opens the package.

"Have you ever done this before?" His first words. She nods her head, and gently spreads the edges of the wound apart, eliciting a gasp of pain. He meets her eyes, and nods. She grasps the sides of the bullet, and starts to slowly pull it out. His face contorts in pain, and tries not cry out. "Quickly!" He almost yelled at her that time; she can see agony reflected in his tone. Counting to three, she yanks it out, tearing a pained cry from his throat. She grabs antiseptic, douses the hole, and takes a roll of gauze, layering it on top of the bloody hole, securing it with surgical tape.

"Next one?" She asks, positioning the hemostats and pulling the wound open. He nods, and she pulls out both the bullet and another cry of agony from his body. Repeating the routine of antiseptic, gauze, and surgical tape, she dresses the wound. He pulls the edges of his shirt down. It's badly stained. Making a quick and probably stupid decision, she grasps his arms and pulls him to his feet, letting him lean heavily on her.

_First Person Skylar_

"Thanks. I can get home." He tries to walk away, but almost collapses. I catch him, bracing him with my right shoulder and left hand. My hand against his iron hard muscles-_ 'NO!'_ No muscles. Help injured man.

"Not gonna happen. You're injured and can barely stand. I can't just let you go back out on the streets and get killed." I tell him. I can put him on the sofa in the apartment, and move him to my bedroom if Dad comes home early. "I have an apartment on the second floor. You can stay on the sofa for the night."

**Jason POV**

Did she seriously just say that? I look at her in surprise. Does she know who she's helping? When I stand straighter, my leather jacket comes apart and reveals the red bat on my chest. Her expression changes from confusion to understanding to determination in less than two seconds.

"Red Hood." I nod. "Where's your helmet?" Sorry, I had to blow it up again to prevent Damian, my crazy, psychotic former assassin brother, from trying to kill me for the eightieth time. Yeah. She'll totally understand that!

"Lost it in the fight. I pulled it off, and got shot." I tell her. She raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Right. Okay. Let's go up to my apartment so we can get you some pain pills." Okay, so she won't take no for an answer. Grabbing my arm, she pulls me through the doors, up the stairs, and through her front door into a small two bedroom apartment with a tiny kitchenette. The sofa she spoke of is across from the television.

While I lay down, she retrieves some Motrin from a cabinet in the kitchen, and returns to my side. For the first time tonight, I notice she is kinda cute. Blonde hair, and beautiful crystal eyes. The girl is about a foot shorter than me. I'm a tall guy, but most girls about her age are closer to my height. She looked like she knew what she was doing earlier, digging the bullets out of my stomach. I'm kind of glad my communicator wasn't working tonight. Dad's in Europe, Dick is in Bludhaven, Tim's home working on a case, and Damian, well, he's Damian. Tim or Damian would call Dad immediately if I was injured.

"Can you take your shirt off?" Excuse me? Okay, yeah. I'll take my shirt off in front of a girl I don't even know, who might possibly have an ulterior motive. Tot- "I'll wash the blood out of it. You can use one of my dad's shirts in the meantime. They might be a little tight though." Oh. Alright then.

"Yeah." When I start to pull it up over my head, my injuries immediately start screaming. To my credit, all I ever let out was a groan before she moved to pull it off herself. Okay then. Nice girl. I need to stop calling her the girl. "What's your name?"

"Why do you need to know?" Suspicious. She kinda is starting to remind me of little Timmy. Blue eyes, and the suspicious attitude. Yep, I just met a pretty girl who is a lot like my little brother.

"So I don't have to call you girl anymore." She is also irritating, in that cute, exasperating way.

"Skylar. Skylar Harris. What's yours?" Is she kidding? I am not telling her my name.

"Red Hood. But you can call me Hood." She frowns. Then Sky tilts her head to the side and fixes me with that annoyed stare I have only ever seen come from Dick or my father.

"I meant your real name, not your hero slash drug lord name."

"I am NOT a criminal. In case you haven't noticed, since I got here, crime is down. Kids can't get drugs. Less robberies take place, and less weapon shipments are getting to Black Mask. And I don't kill either. My dad made sure of that." Oops.

"You're Batman's kid? You mean Nightwing and Red Robin and Robin are your brothers?" Crap! Why did I tell her that!

"Yes they are. Now can you go wash my shirt, Sky? It's kinda weird sitting here shirtless." She looks down, and notices that she's holding my shirt.

"Right. Be back in a sec." Sky walks downstairs to where I assume there is a washing machine. I notice that she isn't wearing pajamas. Does she seriously sleep in jeans and a black tank? Odd. But a good look for her.

**Skylar POV**

Okay. So I am on my way downstairs at 3:30 am with some Batman kid's shirt. Weird situation? Definitely! I throw the shirt in the washer, and head back upstairs, where I see Hood passed out on the couch. Why wouldn't he tell me his name?

He seems familiar. Like I have seen him on television before without his mask or his helmet. He is seriously one muscular guy. I think I noticed Kevlar in his shirt. Didn't help much, did it? He looks exhausted, like he hasn't slept in days. I smile to myself, and walk into my room, and fall asleep. I feel safe with him in the next room. Strange.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, when I finally rolled out of bed, Dad still wasn't home, and Hood was asleep. I walk into the kitchen and pull out some cereal and milk, and grab two bowls for when Sleepy over there wakes up. Sure enough, when I start eating, the guy sits up and rubs his eyes. He lifts the bottom of the mask up and bows his head to hide his identity. When he replaces the mask, I raise an eyebrow at him.

"What?" He asks.

" You apparently don't trust me very much. Why?" He looks down for a moment.

"Because I learned from experience: anyone can betray you if you give them the chance, even your mother or father." His mother?

"No real mother would betray their child. I can't believe that." He tensed at that. Did I say something wrong?

"My birth mother only cared about money. She just stood there while I was almost beaten to death. The only mother who cared about me overdosed on drugs, and my father was abusive and always drunk." Poor guy.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried." He looked up surprised, and walks into the kitchen and sits in the chair across from me.

"So far, I don't see any reason to not trust you, but I'm still not telling you my name."

"Why not?" I would never rat him out to the cops. Ever. He gets up from his chair, and is standing in front of me in two steps. He leans down, bracing his arms against the chair, and says something I never would expect to hear from a man like him.

"I have to protect my family. We all depend on each other to keep our identities secret. I will not betray that trust again." Again? He smells of gun oil and cologne: two scents that I never expected to be so alluring. To add to that, he's still shirtless. At my height, I end up staring right at a pair of enormous arms and a well toned chest.

"I understand. What did you mean by again?" I question softly. Oops, bad idea. His pained expression turns to annoyance.

"Can we change the subject?" He pulls back and goes to sit on the couch. I nod and go to sit with him. Oh, darn. His shirt! I forgot to grab it from the wash!

"I'm going to get your shirt! Be right back." He nods, grinning that annoying half-smile.

Jason POV

I watch her walk to the door and leave. I tilt my head back, and then turn the TV to the news channel.

"And now to the latest news on the crime lord turned hero: the Red Hood. Several men found to be working with Black Mask were apprehended last night, claiming to have killed the Red Hood. 'He's as good as dead. I got him right in the stomach. He'll be dead within the day,' said Marty Simmons, one of the men. Simmons was found with a gun, which was later discovered to have an empty magazine. Batman, Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Robin, and Robin have all been seen at the scene of the crime. If anyone has information on Hoods whereabouts, they are asked to bring the information to Commissioner James Gordon." With a click of the remote, the TV switched off.

Dad was looking for me? I thought he was in Europe. The door creaked open and I looked up to see Skylar walk in with my shirt folded over her arm. The scene looked so right: me on the couch, her walking in with my laundry...No. I'm not good for someone like her. I risk my life every night, and make tons of enemies. She needs someone who isn't going to have a chance of dying every night. I stand, and take my shirt, slowly pulling it on over my wounds. The second I tuck it in, we hear a knock on the door. Skylar looks at me, and jerks her head toward her bedroom. When I close the door, she opens the front door. I press my ear to the wooden door, listening for trouble.

"Where's Red Hood?" It's my father, who is supposed to be in Russia dealing with Ra's al Ghul.

"I'll get hi-" She pauses as I open the door.

"I'm here. Skylar, meet Batman." Skylar is staring at me. "Where's Golden Boy, Replacement, and the Demon?" Batman scowls at my nickname for Dami. Sorry, but when the kid is constantly trying to pull his arrogant little demon routine.

"At the cave. Robin sprained his ankle last night while you were out. Are you alright?" He finally asks.

"A little sore, but I'll be fine in a day or two." Skylar's mouth falls open.

"More like a week or two. Or do you forget not even being able to stand up straight?" She asks me.

"I am perfectly able to stand up straight without help. You were the one who insisted on not letting me go up the stairs myself."

"Because you nearly collapsed when I stopped supporting you! You wouldn't have made it the first few steps and you know it!" She retorts. True, but I'm not about to admit that. And it's not because I'm macho, it's because Daddybats overreacts when any of us get so much as a cut. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my father sit down on Sky's couch. She moves so we are practically face to chest, and looks up at me with her small hands on her slim hips.

"I would have. You wouldn't let me try!" True. She didn't even let me take a single step without her.

"I had just dug two bullets out of your abdomen. I was NOT about to let you fall and pass out on me." She shoots back. Wait, what? That actually sounded like she cared about me.

"Thank you for helping him. We need to return to the cave so I can take a look at Hood's injuries." Dad interrupted. Skylar nodded. As we left, I glanced back and gave her my trademark half-smile. She smiled back, and watched us leave.

As we drove home, my bullet holes started to hurt. But I wasn't paying attention to the pain, I was thinking about Skylar. Her care of my injuries, her arguing with me, her posture before we left, and how she looked at me when I was telling her why I wasn't going to tell her my name.

"Jason? Where were you?" Dick's voice startled me, and I realized we were in the Batcave. I hopped out of the car, and walked to where Dick stood with Dad.

"I got help. And aren't you supposed to be in Bludhaven?"

"I came home to help you with the Black Mask situation, but you'd already left. I stayed here to keep an eye on Demon and Timmy." Satisfied, I turned to Dad.

"When did you get back from Russia?"

"I arrived an hour ago. Batman wasn't me. That was Dick. He called me and told me what happened. I had the pilot fly me back here as soon as the jet was ready. It took me 15 minutes to find you. Now. Who was she and why did she want to help you?" So much for keeping Skylar out of this whole thing.

"She is Skylar Harris. I have no idea who she is, but she knew how to care for a bullet wound. I thought maybe you could figure out who she is." I said. He pulled his cowl back, tilting his head to the side and narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Why? You won't see her again. Why would you want to draw any attention to her?" Dad asked. I don't want to draw attention to her. Black Mask has been trying to kill me since I started messing with him, and lets not forget Joker. Both of them would do anything to take me out.

"I want to keep an eye on her. She can't know, but there's a chance Mask might go after her. I want her protected." I said. He nodded, and left to track her down on his computer, leaving Dick grinning stupidly at me.

"Jaybird's got a-"

"Finish that sentence or lose your trachea." I said, brushing past him and walking to the medbay. Once there, I summoned Alfred to look at the two holes in me.

Twenty minutes later, I was passed out in my bed with the holes sewn up. For the first time in a long time, I didn't have a nightmare.

**Okay, so that's the second chapter. I forgot last time, but please review and tell me what you think. This is my first time writing a fall in love slowly story. Please be nice!**


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